Publications
I have produced a large number of books, articles, op-ed pieces, and unpublished papers. They can be accessed through the links below.
September 5, 2023. Yale University Press
How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy
John J. Mearsheimer and Sebastian Rosato
New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2018
Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities
John J. Mearsheimer
Translated into 3 languages: Chinese, Korean, and Italian.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2011
Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics
John J. Mearsheimer
Translated into 12 languages: Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Russian, and Turkish.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Translated into 24 languages: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, and Vietnamese.
New York: Norton, 2001
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
John J. Mearsheimer
Translated into 9 languages. Updated Edition, New York: Norton, 2014.
August 2, 2023. Le Monde Diplomatique.
Great power rivalries: the case for realism
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, August 17, 2022
Playing With Fire in Ukraine: The Underappreciated Risks of Catastrophic Escalation
John J. Mearsheimer
The Economist, March 19, 2022
Why the West is principally responsible for the Ukrainian crisis
John J. Mearsheimer
The New York Times, July 1, 2019
Iran Is Rushing to Build a Nuclear Weapon — and Trump Can’t Stop It
John J. Mearsheimer
The National Interest (online), November 27, 2016.
Donald Trump Should Embrace a Realist Foreign Policy
John J. Mearsheimer
New York Times paid advertisement, September 8, 2015
The Iran Nuclear Agreement Is In America’s National Interest
John J. Mearsheimer et al.
The Financial Times, March 5, 2012
Mr. Obama Must Take a Stand Against Israel over Iran
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Chicago Tribune, May 9, 2010. Reprinted in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Vol. 29, No. 5 (July 2010), pp. 14-15
Israel’s Fated Bleak Future
John J. Mearsheimer
London Review of Books, Vol. 31, No. 2 (January 29, 2009)
LRB Contributors React to War in Gaza
John J. Mearsheimer
Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2008
Israel’s false friends: U.S. presidential candidates aren’t doing the Jewish state any favors by offering unconditional support
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
The New York Times, February 2, 2003
Keeping Saddam Hussein in a Box
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
New York Times paid advertisement, September 26, 2002
War with Iraq Is Not in America’s National Interest
John J. Mearsheimer et al.
New York Times, April 19, 1999
Redraw the Map, Stop the Killing
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Van Evera
September 2, 2023. John's Substack.
Bound to Lose: Ukraine’s 2023 Counteroffensive
John J. Mearsheimer
June 24, 2023. John’s Substack.
The Darkness Ahead: Where The Ukraine War Is Headed
John J. Mearsheimer
PS: Political Science & Politics, January 2021
The James Madison Award Lecture: Liberalism and Nationalism in Contemporary America
John J. Mearsheimer
Avancer sans théorie
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
This is the French translation of Leaving Theory Behind, originally published in EJIR (2013)
International Security, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Spring 2019), pp. 7-50
Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order
John J. Mearsheimer
Strategic Studies Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Winter 2018), pp. 3-8
Conventional Deterrence: An Interview with John J. Mearsheimer
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, Vol 95. No. 4 (July/August 2016), pp. 70-83
The Case for Offshore Balancing
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Military Review, Vol. 96, No. 3 (May/June 2016), pp. 27-31
Defining a New Security Architecture for Europe that Brings Russia in from the Cold
John J. Mearsheimer
International Studies Review, Vol 18, No. 1 (March 2016) pp.1-3
Benign Hegemony
John J. Mearsheimer
Translated into Czech by Sandra Knudsen: https://www.zoobio.se/teaching/2017/06/22/benigni-hegemonie/
National Interest No. 139 (September/October 2015), pp. 34-35
What is America’s Purpose
John J. Mearsheimer
in Akeel Bilgrami and Johnathan R. Cole, Who's Afraid of Academic Freedom?, (Columbia Univeristy Press, 2015) pp. 316-333
Israel and Academic Freedom
John J. Mearsheimer
in Audience Cost and the Vietnam War, H-Diplo/ISSf Forem, No. 3, November 7, 2014, pp.86-89
Comments
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, Vol 93, No. 6 (November/December 2014), pp. 167-171.
Moscow’s Choice
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, Vol. 93 No. 5 (September/October 2014), pp. 1-12
Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault
John J. Mearsheimer
The National Interest, No. 130 (March/April 2014), pp. 29-39
Taiwan’s Dire Straits
John J. Mearsheimer
The National Interest, No. 129 (January/February 2014), pp. 9-30
America Unhinged
John J. Mearsheimer
European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 19, No. 3 (September 2013), pp. 427-57
Leaving Theory Behind: Why Simplistic Hypothesis Testing is Bad for IR
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Faculty Research Working Paper No. RWP13-001, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, January 2013
Leaving Theory Behind: Why Hypothesis Testing Has Become Bad for IR
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
in Tim Dunne, Milja Kurki, and Steve Smith, eds., International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity, 3rd Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), pp. 77-93
Structural Realism
John J. Mearsheimer
in George F. Kennan, American Diplomacy, expanded ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), pp.vii-xlvii
Introduction
John J. Mearsheimer
in Antony Loewenstein and Ahmed Moor, eds., After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine, (London: Saqi Books, 2012), pp. 135-153
The Future of Palestine: Righteous Jews vs. the New Afrikaners
John J. Mearsheimer
Security Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (July-September 2011), pp. 424-430
Realists as Idealists
John J. Mearsheimer
Vita e Pensiero, No. 3 (May/June 2011), pp. 23-31
Asia e Pacifico: ora la Cina sfida davvero gli States
John J. Mearsheimer
International Relations, Vol. 23, No. 2 (June 2009), pp. 241-256
Reckless States and Realism
John J. Mearsheimer
Also published as "Reckless States and Realism," in Ken Booth, ed., Realism and World Politics (New York: Routledge, 2011), pp. 124-40
The National Interest, No. 111 (January/February 2010), pp. 16-34
Imperial by Design
John J. Mearsheimer
The Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Winter 2010)
The Gathering Storm: China’s Challenge to US Power in Asia
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, Vol. 89, No. 6 (November/December 2010)
Review: The Best and the Brightest
John J. Mearsheimer
Blatter fur deutsche und internationale Politik, (October 2010)
China vs. USA: Der aufziehende Strum
John J. Mearsheimer
European Political Science, Vol. 9, 2 No. 3 (September 2010)
Why Is Europe Peaceful Today
John J. Mearsheimer
Leviathan, Vol. 37, No. 4 (December 2009), pp. 519-531
Warum herrscht Frieden in Europa?
John J. Mearsheimer
Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 7, No. 02 (June 2009), pp. 259-273
The Blind Man and the Elephant in the Room: Robert Lieberman and the Israel Lobby
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Security Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1 (March 2009), pp. 58-78
Is It Love or the Lobby? Explaining America’s Special Relationship with Israel
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
The American Conservative, January 26, 2009, pp. 6-8.
Another War, Another Defeat
John J. Mearsheimer
Jordan Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Summer 2008), pp. 35-44
The Israel Lobby in the United States
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
in Naoto Yoshikawa and Kazuhiko Noguchi, Perspectives on International Relations (Tokyo: Keiso Text Selection, 2006), pp. i-vi
Forward
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Policy, No. 155 (July/August 2006), pp. 57-58, 64-66
The War over Israel’s Influence
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Current History, Vol. 105, No. 690 (April 2006), pp. 160-162
China’s Unpeaceful Rise
John J. Mearsheimer
in Carlo Masala, Kenneth N. Waltz: Einführung in seine Theorie und Auseinandersetzung mit seinen Kritikern (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2005)
Zu Diesem Buch
John J. Mearsheimer
opendemocracy.com, posted May 19, 2005
Hans Morgenthau and the Iraq War: Realism versus Neo-Conservatism
John J. Mearsheimer
Excerpted as "Realism is Right," in The National Interest, No. 81 (Fall 2005), p. 10. Also published as "Hans Morgenthau und der Irakkrieg: Realismus versus Neokonservatismus," in Merkur, Vol. 59, No. 677/678 (September-October 2005), pp. 836-844. Also published as "A Case Study of Iraq - Analogies to Vietnam?" in Christian Hacke, Gottfried-Karl Kindermann, and Kai M. Schellhorn, eds., The Heritage, Challenge, and Future of Realism (Gottingen: V&R Unipress, 2005), pp. 139-148.
International Relations, Vol. 19, No. 3 (September 2005), pp. 354-359. [My response to five pieces responding to my "E.H. Carr vs. Idealism" piece]
The Mores Isms the Better
John J. Mearsheimer
International Relations, Vol. 19, No. 2 (June 2005), pp. 139-152
E.H. Carr vs. Idealism: The Battle Rages On
John J. Mearsheimer
A Debate with Zbigniew Brzezinski on the Rise of China, Foreign Policy, No. 146 (January-February 2005), pp. 46-49
Clash of the Titans
John J. Mearsheimer
in G.O. Mazur, ed., One Hundred Year Commemoration to the Life of Hans Morgenthau (1904-2004) (New York: Semenenko Foundation, 2004), pp. 184-196
Power and Fear in Great Power Politics
John J. Mearsheimer
Palestine-Israel Journal, Vol. 15, Nos. 1 & 2 (2008), pp. 147-152
The U.S. Should Act as an Honest Broker
John J. Mearsheimer
in Ian Shapiro, Rogers M. Smith, and Tarek E. Masoud, eds., Problems and Methods in the Study of Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 388-394.
A Self-Enclosed World?
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Policy, No. 134 (January-February, 2003), pp. 50-59
An Unnecessary War
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Reprinted in Australian Financial Review, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (Germany), Prospect (UK), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), Magyar Narancs (Hungary), Foreign Policy-Arabic Edition, Foreign Policy-Turkish Edition, Gestion (Ecuador), Opposing Viewpoints: Middle East (Gale Group); and in Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf, eds., The Iraq Reader: History, Documents, Opinions (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003), pp. 414-424
(Cambridge, MA: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs), November 12, 2002)
Can Saddam Be Contained? History Says Yes
John J. Mearsheimer
in Michael Brecher and Frank P. Harvey, eds., Realism and Institutionalism in International Studies (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2002), pp. 23-33
Realism, the Real World, and the Academy
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, Vol. 80, No. 5 (September/October, 2001), pp. 46-61
The Future of the American Pacifier
John J. Mearsheimer
The National Interest, No. 65 (Fall 2001), pp. 123-129
Kissinger’s Wisdom … and Advice
John J. Mearsheimer
in Philosophy and Literature, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1998), pp. 137-155
The Aims of Education
John J. Mearsheimer
in Philosophy and Literature, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1998), pp. 193-98
Teaching Morality at the Margins
John J. Mearsheimer
in Geir Lundestad, ed., No End To Alliance: The United States and Western Europe (New York: St. Martin's, 1998), pp. 221-242.
The Future of America’s Continental Commitment
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Summer 1995), pp. 82-93. [My response to four pieces responding to my "False Promise" piece].
A Realist Reply
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Winter 1994/1995), pp. 5-49
The False Promise of International Institutions
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Michael E. Brown et al., eds., The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995), pp. 332-376; Michael E. Brown et al., eds., Theories of War and Peace: An International Security Reader (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998), pp. 329-383; Karen Mingst and Jack Snyder, eds., Essential Readings in World Politics (New York: Norton, 2000); Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, 7th ed, revised by Kenneth W. Thompson and W. David Clinton (New York: McGraw Hill, pp. 569-585. Originally published as Working Paper No. 10 for the Project on the Changing Security Environment and American National Interests, John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Harvard University, November 1994.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 49, No. 6 (June/July 1993). Review of Deborah Shapley, Promise and Power: The Life and Times of Robert McNamara (New York: Little, Brown, 1993).
McNamara’s War
John J. Mearsheimer
Foreign Affairs, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Summer 1993), pp. 50-66.
The Case for a Ukrainian Nuclear Deterrent
John J. Mearsheimer
The New Republic, June 14, 1993, pp. 22-28
The Answer: A Three-Way Partition Plan for Bosnia And How the U.S. Can Enforce It
John J. Mearsheimer and Robert A. Pape
in Graham Allison and Gregory Treverton, eds., Rethinking America's Security: Beyond Cold War to New World Order (New York: Norton, 1992), pp. 213-237.
Disorder Restored
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Summer 1990), pp. 5-56
Back to the Future: Instability in Europe After the Cold War
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Sean M. Lynn-Jones, ed., The Cold War and After: Prospects for Peace (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1991), pp. 141-192; Michael E. Brown et al., eds., The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995), pp. 78-129. and Michael E. Brown et al., eds., Theories of War and Peace: An International Security Reader (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998), pp. 3-54.
International Security, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Winter 1990/1991), pp. 219-222
Correspondence: Back to the Future, Part III: Realism and the Realities of European Security
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall 1990), pp. 194-199
Correspondence: Back to the Future, Part II: International Relations Theory and Post-Cold War Europe
John J. Mearsheimer
The Atlantic, August 1990, pp. 35-50.
Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in numerous places. Also see "Letters to the Editor: The Cold War Reconsidered," The Atlantic, November 1990, pp. 8-16.
International Security, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Spring 1989), pp. 54-89.
Assessing the Conventional Balance: The 3:1 Rule and Its Critics
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Spring 1989), pp. 128-144
Correspondence: Reassessing Net Assessment
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Spring 1988), pp. 174-185.
Numbers, Strategy, and the European Balance
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Fall 1986), pp. 3 57.
A Strategic Misstep: The Maritime Strategy and Deterrence in Europe
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Robert J. Art and Kenneth N. Waltz, eds., The Use of Force, 3rd ed. (New York: University Press of America, 1988), pp. 590-617; and Steven E. Miller and Stephen Van Evera, eds., Naval Strategy and National Security (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988), pp. 47-101.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 41, No. 7 (August 1985), pp. 158 162.
Prospects for Conventional Deterrence in Europe
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Len Ackland and Steven McGuire, eds., Assessing the Nuclear Age (Chicago: Education Foundation for Nuclear Science, 1986), pp. 335-343.
International Security, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Winter 1984/1985), pp. 19 46.
Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence in Europe
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Hylke Tromp, ed., War in Europe (Aldershot, Eng.: Avebury, 1989), pp. 71-100.
ournal of Modern History, Vol. 56, No. 4 (December 1984), pp. 710-711.
War in the Modern Great Power System, 1495-1975
John J. Mearsheimer
Review essay of Jack S. Levy, War in the Modern Great Power System, 1495-1975 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1983).
in Ted Galen Carpenter, ed., NATO's Empty Victory: A Postmortem on the Balkan War (Washington, DC: CATO Institute, 2000), pp. 133-138
The Case for Partitioning Kosovo
John J. Mearsheimer
ORBIS, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Summer 1983), pp. 285-300.
The Military Reform Movement: A Critical Assessment
John J. Mearsheimer
International Security, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer 1982), pp. 3 39.
Why the Soviets Can’t Win Quickly in Central Europe
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Robert J. Art and Kenneth N. Waltz, eds., The Use of Force, 3rd ed. (New York: University Press of America, 1988), pp. 442-463; and Steven E. Miller, ed., Conventional Forces and American Defense Policy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986), pp. 121-157.
International Security, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Winter 1981/1982), pp. 104 122.
Maneuver, Mobile Defense and the NATO Central Front
John J. Mearsheimer
Reprinted in Steven E. Miller, ed., Conventional Forces and American Defense Policy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986), pp. 231-249.